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Undiluted neem oil for head lice--now what?

by Lisa
(Richmond VA)

After 2 Nix treatments and countless hours of combing with lice combs, she had discovered a live bug this morning in her hair. So I switched to neem oil.


I just applied undiluted neem oil directly onto my 15 year old daughter's scalp to treat head lice. We left the oil in her hair for more than an hour, then she shampooed her hair.

To say that it stinks is a huge understatement. I nearly threw-up, and our bathroom is nearly uninhabitable. I combed thoroughly and found maybe one tiny dead louse.

The problem now is how to get her hair to stop smelling and being so oily. At first she didn't use any conditioner because I figured her hair was oily enough. Then I read here somewhere that a regular conditioner with other good-smelling oils would be good.

My poor daughter has to return to boarding school, which, of course, is where she picked the lice up. Help! She can't go out in public, looking and smelling as she does now!

Comments for
Undiluted neem oil for head lice--now what?

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Neem oil stinks but it sure knocks the lice...
by: Birgit

Hi Lisa,
I am confident that you will find that the neem oil did knock those lice. Or you would have discovered the first case of resistance to neem oil in about 5000 years of history.

Head lice and mites are the most susceptible critters of all when it comes to neem oil.

As for your daughter's hair, using that much oil will obviously require a lot of shampooing to get rid of. I often add neem oil and olive oil to my hair treatments, just because it's so good for my hair and scalp, and that also takes a long time to wash out.

I think you grossly underestimate the amount of soap/shampoo required to dissolve that much oil. If the hair is still oily you didn't wash it enough. Just keep shampooing and rinsing until it's gone. Most of the smell will be gone then, too. Though yes, some will linger.

In my experience it lingers until the next wash but is only noticeable if my hair gets damp (sweating) and if I wear it open and shake it. I just keep it plaited after a treatment.

The good thing about the lingering smell is that it will prevent reinfection from the boarding school. Unfortunately, as soon as the last hint of neem is gone she may bring new head lice home...
Neem Shampoo continually?
by: Anonymous

Thanks for your response. After the intense neem oil treatment yesterday and hours of combing, I awoke early this morning to take my daughter back to boarding school. Her head itched and she combed through and found a live louse!!! I was shocked and discouraged. We continued to comb and found nothing. I had to go ahead and take her back to boarding school. After I arrived there, I combed for more than an hour and still found nothing, no nits, no lice. I have to believe that the one this morning came from some bedding or clothing item.

Of course, now that she is relatively lice-free, her dorm is fairly infested. Should she use the neem shampoo continually for a while? Any other thoughts? She plans to comb and check at least daily. Her hair will be up in a bun until further notice!

Thanks! What fun!
Not Anonymous
by: Lisa

Birgit,
The comment above was from Lisa. Thanks!
Yes, shampoo will definitely help
by: Birgit

Hi Lisa,

Fun indeed, I can imagine!
Yes, I would certainly continue to use neem shampoo. I hope you can find a good, strong one. If it also has tea tree oil and other oils, all the better, because those help repelling the lice as well. If her dorm is badly infested she'll be struggling.

You did talk to the boarding school and demand they do something about that, didn't you? If there is a problem at the school and that is not addressed, then everybody will continue to have problems.

What you describe is overall very strange: itching (maybe all the washing and combing is irritating the scalp? also the previous Nix treatments...), still finding a live louse (I agree that it likely came from elsewhere. You should always eradicate lice from all the surrounds as well...), as I said, highly unusual.

I hope you can get on top of the problem!
shampoo
by: Anonymous

If you are having problems getting rid of the oil, buy a shampoo from a salon, it is a clarifying shampoo. Every company sells it. It gets rid of build up ex. chlorine, left over product in hair and of course oils. Be careful if you have bleached hair because over use can cause breakage, but at the same time if neem oil does what its supposed to do, your hair should be stronger. I suggest just use it to get rid of the oil maybe 2-3 shampoos, then if needed again, once a week. Good luck.
your friendly stylist
Washing essential oils out of your hair
by: Anonymous

Just add a tablespoon of baking soda to the shampoo in the palm of your hand. Lather and scrub your hair and scalp. Works great to get most of oil treatment out (fractionated coconut oil, olive oil, essential oils like neem and karanja, cedarwood, peppermint, spearmint, etc.)

Wetting hair with cider vinegar before washing loosens the "cement" that holds nits to the hair shaft. Comb with nit comb after soaking hair and scalp for 15-20 mins. Then treat vinegary hair with your oil treatment, then shampoo.

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